Discover the latest Manish Malhotra Spring Summer 2016 couture fashion collection at Lakme Fashion Week, read a review and discover our favorite dresses. Manish Malhotra Spring Summer 2016 haute couture collection opened this year’s Lakme Fashion Week. Rich yet soothing, the silhouettes were a collection of traditional ethnic wear with a strong modern infusion.
The collection, titled Elements, was inspired by the elements of nature – earth, water, wind and flame. The color palette of earthy tones and pastels was derived from this theme. It comprised of over 70 dresses, all designed for a beautiful summer wedding, replete with “colourful garden mehendis. Breezy open-air sangeets”, as told in the fashion show description.
The silhouettes included Manish Malhotra’s quintessential sarees and lehengas for women and bundhgalas, long kurtas and jackets in menswear. Embroidery and threadwork galore – no inch was spared in quite a few of the pieces. Sheer capes and tulle ponchos replaced the traditional duppatta scarves, and long trains inspired by Victorian fashion came with the lehengas. There were also tulle embroidered gowns, long silk skirts, off-shoulder silk peplum tops and floor-touching jackets and jumpsuits. Bell sleeves, floral motifs and exposed shoulders gave a feminine allure.
The color palette reinterpreted the nature in pastels. Think sunset orange instead of raging fire red. Other hues included pale rose, nude, beige, powder blue, deep sea blue and off whites.
My favorite look included the showstopper gown in rose beige worn by Bollywood actress, Jacqueline Fernandez, paired with a floor-sweeping sheer poncho with a long train. ANother favorite was a similar look with crop top and lehenga in nude beige with powder blue embroidery, paired with a floor-length cape. Other beauties were the hip-long sheer ponchos and the crop tops.
The only outfit I didn’t love was the deep sea blue bell-sleeved jumpsuit. The beauty of slit-bell sleeves lies in its floaty-ness, but using a rich or stiff fabric, especially with a slit, makes it look like “too much fabric”, or voluminous at the top, almost cloak-like. If it were me, I’d do it perhaps with a couple of inches of similar embroidery as those lehengas. And off-shoulder and/or sleeveless, with fitted top and slightly flared bottoms, because as Coco Chanel said, “Fashion is architecture. It is a matter of proportions.”
Manish Malhotra Spring Summer 2016 Fashion Show: Gallery
Shilpa Ahuja the editor-in-chief of ShilpaAhuja.com, which she founded with the goal of inspiring confidence in the modern working woman through fashion. Other than defining the direction of the magazine, she also writes about fashion & beauty trend forecasts, industry analysis, and opinions.
Shilpa’s work has been published in the University of Fashion blog and Jet Airways magazine. She is also an artist, illustrator and cartoonist. She is also the creator of Audrey O., a comic series that represents the lifestyle of millennial women. She enjoys creative writing and world travel. Her art has been exhibited at Harvard Graduate School of Design and the Aroma Hotel, Chandigarh and been published in Chandigarh Times.
Originally from Chandigarh, Shilpa also has a degree in architecture and has worked in interior project management. She is also the author of the book “Designing a Chinese Cultural Center in India”. Shilpa has a Masters in Design Studies degree from Harvard University.
For feedback and questions, please email [email protected]
